Hangul 신숙주 Revised Romanization Sin Sukju Hangul 희현당 or 보한재 Name Shin Suk-ju Died June 21, 1475 | Hanja 申叔舟 McCune–Reischauer Sin Sukchu Hanja 希賢堂 or 保閑齋 Role Politician | |
 | ||
The Portrait of Sin Sukju for AP Art History
Shin Suk-ju (Korean: 신숙주, hanja: 申叔舟; August 2, 1417 – July 23, 1475) was a Korean politician during the Joseon Dynasty. He served as Prime Minister from 1461 to 1466 and again from 1471 to 1475.
Shin was an accomplished polyglot, and was particularly well educated in the Chinese language. He served as a personal linguistic expert to King Sejong, and was intimately involved in the creation and application of the Korean alphabet known in modern times as Hangul. Sin used the newly created hangul system to create an accurate transcription of spoken Mandarin Chinese in 15th century Ming dynasty China. These transcriptions haven proven accurate and reliable, and his transcriptions are now "an invaluable source of information on the pronunciations of Ming-era [Mandarin]."